"The tables have turned. I am the blade, and you are the fish on the carving block. You understand what that means, don't you?"
A flash of contemptuous mockery flickered in Feng Che's eyes.
"Hmph! Even if I have lost the Naganadel, I am still a peak Elite-level Poison specialist!" Hanzo Shura snarled, refusing to yield. "Come forth, Toxtricity!"
The Toxtricity was a deep purple humanoid lizard with yellow markings stretching from its jaw to its abdomen. A bolt of yellow lightning crested its head, and jagged protrusions lined its wrists and back. Six protrusions resembling guitar strings sat upon its chest. This was the Amped Form, known for generating electricity by breaking down toxins stored in its body—a process that vibrated its chest to create a melody like a distorted electric guitar.
This specific Toxtricity was at the very peak of the Elite rank, only a hair's breadth away from reaching the Champion level.
"Naganadel, you've just evolved and aren't suited for this fight," Feng Che said, addressing the leader of the new swarm. "Take your brothers to the sky and watch."
Hanzo Shura felt a surge of nausea. The Poipole he had spent years plundering and raising had become Feng Che's assets in a matter of minutes. He felt like he was about to cough up three liters of blood from pure spite.
"I'll show you! Toxtricity, use Eerie Impulse!"
A series of strange, distorted waves rippled through the air, designed to drastically lower an opponent's special attack power. One of the Naganadel—the one transformed from Feng Che's Ditto—suddenly dived from the sky, letting out a thunderous roar. It was this Ditto that had devoured the "mother" Naganadel's essence.
"That was my Naganadel..." Hanzo whispered, his heart bleeding as he looked at the beast's murderous gaze. "If I defeat you, Feng Che, I will reclaim my army!"
The veins on Hanzo's hands and temples bulged with fury. The "Naganadel" (Ditto) let out a second roar, its sonic pressure colliding with the Eerie Impulse and creating a shockwave that pulverized the surrounding withered trees.
"Good. Naganadel, use Poison Sting!"
Feng Che had no intention of revealing Ditto's true identity in front of a witness, so he treated it as a genuine Naganadel. The Ditto-Naganadel arched its tail, spraying a volley of fine, needle-like toxins toward Toxtricity.
"Toxtricity, Boomburst!"
Toxtricity unhinged its jaw, unleashing a purple wall of sound that slammed into the toxic needles, shattering them into a fine violet mist that drifted across the battlefield.
"Impressive, Hanzo," Feng Che noted. "You've found a way to infuse sonic attacks with lethal toxins. By vibrating the poison into micro-molecules, you ensure that anyone who hears the sound also inhales the poison. You've reached the pinnacle of the Poison Arts."
"Naganadel, Dragon Pulse!"
The Ditto-Naganadel took a deep breath, sucking the violet mist back into its maw before exhaling a massive draconic beam. The energy took the shape of a snarling poison dragon, lunging at Toxtricity.
"Toxtricity, Overdrive!"
The six strings on Toxtricity's chest vibrated violently, emitting a piercing, high-frequency sound that shattered the Dragon Pulse into fragments.
"It's not just Overdrive," Feng Che observed. "You've layered Screech and Swagger into the frequency."
He noticed the Ditto-Naganadel's eyes turning bloodshot, its scales bristling.
"Clever girl," Feng Che thought. "Instead of falling into confusion from the Swagger, she's using the rage to trigger an Outrage state."
"Naganadel, use Dragon Pulse again!"
With the boost from Outrage, the move's power tripled. Hanzo Shura didn't dare take the hit. "Toxtricity, Dig!"
The Dragon Pulse impacted the earth, the corrosive energy eating a deep pit into the soil. Unlike standard versions of the move, a Naganadel's Dragon Pulse carried an acidic property that sizzled against the stone.
Toxtricity crawled back out of the earth, looking bedraggled.
"Fine... it seems I must use my final trump card," Hanzo panted. "I found this Toxtricity near the Poison Dragon's nest when it was just a Toxel. It has lived its whole life bathed in that dragon's aura."
"Even though the Scale is gone, its power remains in my Toxtricity's blood! Witness the moment of greatness! Toxtricity... GIGANTAMAX!"
A surge of dark, swirling energy erupted from Toxtricity. Within the purple-black mist, its body began to grow at an impossible rate.
"Gigantamax?" Feng Che scratched his head. "Using it outside of Galar is rare. It must be the residual influence of the Eternatus Scale."
The Gigantamax Toxtricity hunkered down, its back sprouting massive electrified spikes. Its stored voltage now rivaled a thundercloud. Because the toxins had reached its brain, the giant lizard was now in a state of primal frenzy, secreting toxic sweat that began to pollute the very ground beneath it. It swung a massive guitar-shaped bolt of electricity, the impact leaving a crater the size of a meteor strike.
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